C5ISR 2018 BAA (Formerly STCD) (Rev 16) 14Mar22.pdf

United States (U.S.) Army, Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center (C5ISR) Center

Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

Solicitation Number: BAA-18-R-STCD

Solicitation issued by: U.S. Army Contracting

Command (ACC) – APG

Original Posting Date: 20 Jun 2018

Rev15, 01 February 2022 Rev 16, 14 March 2022

Short Title: BAA S&TCD 2018

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

A. General Information

1. Procurement Contracts

2. Other Transactions Agreements (OTA):

B. BAA Elements and Overview

C. Points of Contact (POC)

SCOPE AND RESEARCH INTEREST INTRODUCTION FOR TOPICS

Topic Number: S1801

Topic Number: S1802

Topic Number: S1803

Topic Number: S1804

Topic Number: S1805

Topic Number: S1806 – N/A

Topic Number: S1807

Topic Number: S1808

Topic Number: S1809

Topic Number: S1810

Topic Number: S1811

Topic Number: S1812

Topic Number: S1813

Topic Number: S1814

Topic Number: S1815 – N/A

Topic Number: S1816

Topic Number: S1817

Topic Number: S1818

Topic Number: S1819

Topic Number: S1820 – N/A

Topic Number: S1821 – N/A

Topic Number: S1822

Topic Number: S1823

Topic Number: S1824

Topic Number: S1825

Topic Number: S1826

Topic Number: S1827

Topic Number: S1828

Topic Number: S1829

Topic Number: S1830

Army Command Post Survivability

WP AND PROPOSAL INFORMATION

A. General WP and Proposal Information

1. Procurement Contracts

2. In addition to the evaluation factors identified herein, WPs and/or proposal preparation and submission requirements will also be considered during the USG’s evaluation procedures.OTAs – Prototype

B. WP Preparation, Submission, and Evaluation

1. Preparation

2. Submission

3. Evaluation

C. Procurement Contract Proposal Preparation, Submission, and Evaluation

1. Preparation

2. Submission

3. Evaluation

D. Other Transaction Agreements- Prototype Preparation, Submission, and Evaluation

1. Preparation

2. Submission

3. Evaluation

OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION

Certificate of Current Cost and Pricing Data

Type of Contract

Cost-Sharing

Awards

Restrictive Marking on Proposals

Representations and Certifications

INTRODUCTION

The BAA, solicitation number BAA-18-R-STCD, is sponsored by the U.S. Army, C5ISR Center, and will be open for five (5) years from the date of original issue. This BAA will be valid through 19 June 2023, unless terminated sooner.

The C5ISR Center develops and integrates Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) technologies that enable information dominance and decisive lethality for the networked Warfighters.

The C5ISR Center provides the U.S. Army with secure communications/networking technologies through research and development (R&D) innovations.

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

This BAA is intended to solicit white papers (WP) for:

1. Procurement Contracts

Procurement contracts will be issued under the provisions of Parts 35.016 and 6.102(d)(2)(i) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which provides for the competitive selection of R&D proposals submitted in response to this announcement. FAR 35.016 provides for the issuance of a BAA as a means of soliciting proposals for basic and applied research and that part of development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware (HW) procurement. To be eligible for consideration and possible contract award, the technology or methodology shall be either basic research, applied research, advanced technology development not for a specific system/HW, or demonstration and validation. This BAA may be used by agencies to fulfill their requirements for scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding rather than focusing on a specific system or HW solution; however, this BAA shall only be used when meaningful proposals with varying technical/scientific approaches can be reasonably anticipated.

Basic Research Defined as research directed toward increasing knowledge in science with the primary aim being a fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject under study, rather than any practical application of that knowledge.

Applied Research Defined as an effort that normally follows basic research, but may not be severable from the related basic research; attempts to determine and exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques; and attempts to advance the state-of-the-art.

2. Other Transactions Agreements (OTA):

The OTA authorities were created to give DoD the flexibility necessary to adopt and incorporate business practices that reflect commercial industry standards and best practices into its award instruments. When leveraged appropriately, OTAs provide the Government with access to state-of-the-art technology solutions from traditional and non-traditional defense contractors (NDC)s, through a multitude of potential teaming arrangements tailored to the particular project and the needs of the participants.

The award of an OTA shall be for the development of prototypes in accordance with (IAW) Section 2371b of title 10. U.S.C. The resultant award of any OTA using the procedures of this BAA are NOT made or issued under the provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-369), FAR Part 6 or any other FAR based regulation. However, solely as a matter of convenience to meet the requirement for maximum practicable competition, the mechanics of the competitive BAA process detailed in this BAA otherwise not applicable to OTAs are, as supplemented herein, adopted as the competitive procedure for entering into OTAs.

Prototype OTAs Prototype OTAs (sometimes referred to as “2371b” or “prototype project” OTAs) are authorized under 10 U.S.C. §2371b to carry out prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the Department of Defense, or to improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. As such, any resulting OTA awards are acquisition instruments since the Government is acquiring something for its direct benefit. Terms such as “support or stimulate” are assistance terms and are not appropriate in OTA’s for prototype projects.

A prototype project can generally be described as a preliminary pilot, test, evaluation, demonstration, or agile development activity used to evaluate the technical or manufacturing feasibility or military utility of a particular technology, process, concept, end item, effect, or other discrete feature. Prototype projects may include systems, subsystems, components, materials, methodology, technology, or processes. By way of illustration, a prototype project may involve:

a proof of concept; a pilot; a novel application of commercial technologies for defense purposes; a creation, design, development, demonstration of technical or operational utility; or combinations of the foregoing, related to a prototype. The quantity should generally be limited to that needed to prove technical or manufacturing feasibility or evaluate military utility.

Follow-On Activities Successful Prototype OTAs offer a streamlined method for transitioning into follow-on production without competition. If the Government determines it is in its best interest, this solicitation and the original Prototype OTA agreement shall include notice that a follow-on Production OTA is possible to allow greater flexibility to those Government organizations planning to leverage production efforts without re-competing.

Anticipated follow-on activities may include issues such as life cycle costs, logistics products, sustainment, test and evaluation, IP requirements, and future competition. Any Prototype OTA shall contain a provision that sets forth the conditions under which that prototype agreement must be successfully completed.

In order to be compliant with 10 U.S.C. §2371b, the Offeror must ensure the following:

a) The proposed effort includes a prototype per the statute and the transaction will: “carry out prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the Department of Defense, or to improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces;” and

b) There is at least one NDC or non-profit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project; or

c) All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses [including those participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs] or NDCs; or

d) At least one-third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by parties other than the Federal Government; or

e) The senior procurement executive (SPE) for the agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract, or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract.

B. BAA ELEMENTS AND OVERVIEW

This BAA is a hybrid combining elements of an open, two-step, and with calls BAA offering maximum flexibility to the organization and opportunities for respondents.

An open BAA allows for WP submittals at any time until the expiration of this BAA.

WPs and proposals will be evaluated according to the instruction described herein.

A two-step BAA will invite potential Offerors to submit brief descriptive WPs in lieu of full proposals. Full proposals are then requested from those potential Offerors selected in the WP evaluation process. When proposals are received, they are evaluated and selected according the procedures described herein. Not all requested proposals will result in an award.

While this BAA will remain open, allowing WP submission at any time, the U.S.

Government (USG) might also issue requests transmitted via “calls,” using the Contract Opportunities, via https://www.SAM.gov/, bringing attention to one (1) or more areas of interest requesting potential Offerors to submit a WP. The “calls” might further define the technology/USG needs etc., or will simply request a WP for a specific topic.

WPs may be submitted at any time during the life of this BAA, as well as in direct response to a call. The USG may award a contract at any time during the life of this BAA. An award may also be made after the BAA expiration date if the WP is received before the expiration date occurs. This award may occur no later than six

(6) months after the BAA expiration date. Offerors that submit a proposal without first submitting a WP may not be eligible for award.

This announcement must be general in nature, identify the areas of research interest, include criteria for submitting and evaluating WPs, and solicit the participation of all Offerors capable of satisfying the needs of the USG. Proposals that are selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of PL 98-369, the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. Resulting agreements may be in the form of purchase orders, contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements depending upon the specifics of the effort, such as extent of the USG involvement, actual scope of work, and cost.

The C5ISR Center encourages industry interested in conducting scientific research, educational institutions, small businesses, and small disadvantaged business concerns, historically black colleges, university and minority business enterprises and institutions to submit WPs. Eligible prospective Offerors also include Canadian firms participating in the Defense Development Sharing Program.

The USG will consider Contractor Teaming Arrangements, as set forth in FAR Subpart 9.6, or Defense R&D Pools as set forth in FAR Subpart 9.7.

The Offeror, by submission of an offer or execution of a contract in response to this solicitation, certifies that the Offeror is not debarred, suspended, declared ineligible for award of public contracts, or proposed for debarment pursuant to FAR 9.406-2.

If the Offeror cannot certify, or if the status of the Offeror changes prior to award, the Offeror must provide detailed information as to its current status.

This BAA is an expression of interest only and does not commit the USG to make an award or pay WP or proposal preparation costs generated in response to this announcement. The cost of WP and proposal preparation for response to a BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resultant contract or any other contract. Any award will be made subject to availability of appropriated funds. The prospective Offeror is reminded that only a duly warranted KO, from the U.S. ACC, may obligate the USG to an agreement involving expenditure of USG funds. The USG reserves the right to fund all, some, one, or none of the WPs or proposals received under this BAA. The USG anticipates making multiple awards subject to availability of funds.

This BAA may be amended to add new topics. Interested parties should be alert for any BAA amendments that may be published on the SAM.gov site, via https://www.SAM.gov.

C. POINTS OF CONTACT (POC)

1. All submissions, technical questions, or clarifications shall be submitted via email to the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) associated with the respective Research Topic, with the KO, Contract Specialist (KS), and Acquisition Mailbox (see below) included on the Carbon Copy (CC) line. No discussions by the technical staff are to be held with Offeror after proposal submission without PRIOR authorization from the KO.

2. Contractual questions shall be directed to the KO, Chris

Fisherchristopher.m.fisher24.civ@army.mil, and the KS, Andrew Pilone, andrew.m.pilone.civ@army.mil, with a CC to the Acquisition Mailbox, Proposals shall be submitted via email to the Acquisition Mailbox- usarmy.apg.devcom-c5isr.mbx.esi-bus-ops-eae-it-support@army.mil.

mailto:usarmy.apg.devcom-c5isr.mbx.esi-bus-ops-eae-it-support@army.mil mailto:usarmy.apg.devcom-c5isr.mbx.esi-bus-ops-eae-it-support@army.mil

SCOPE AND RESEARCH INTEREST INTRODUCTION FOR

TOPICS

This section of the BAA contains statements of the research interests required by the C5ISR Center. Each statement identifies TPOC representation for the respective topics.

Prior to WP submission, questions on technical matters and availability of project funding relating to a particular research interest should be directed to the TPOC identified for that research interest.

If development in certain topic areas requires the interaction of several investigators from interdisciplinary areas, WPs and proposals for comprehensive research programs will be considered. Only a limited number of such large programs can be initiated under this BAA.

Inquiries related to comprehensive and interdisciplinary programs within the mission area of this directorate should be addressed to the TPOC.

If development in certain topic areas requires the demonstration of technology, WPs and proposals for comprehensive research programs shall include the delivery of the applicable prototype to the USG. Proposals may range from theoretical studies to proof-of-concept, to include fabrication and delivery of a prototype.

NOTE: When responding/inquiring on a specific area of research, refer to the Topic Number listed on the following appropriate pages and indicate if submission is seeking a Procurement Contract or an OTA Prototype

TOPIC NUMBER: S1801

Tactical Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO)

Division: CYBER SECURITY AND INFORMATION ASSURANCE (CSIA) Technical POC: Mr. Steve Lucas, stephen.w.lucas.civ@army.mil Secondary POCs: Mr. Jonathan Santos, jonathan.m.santos.civ@army.mil;

Ms. Theresa Bickler, theresa.j.bickler.civ@army.mil

The C5ISR Center CSIA Division is interested in the means of ensuring soldier security, survivability, and continued operation of tactical and strategic information systems at all classification levels in the face of cyber-attack.

The following is a list of areas of research that the C5ISR Center CSIA division is interested in, and would like further information on novel approaches to addressing these research areas, especially focused on tactical networks:

Technologies for Cyber Electro-Magnetic Activities (CEMA) and DCO Situational Awareness (SA) and Situational Understanding (SU), and common operating picture of host-based protections, information, and vulnerabilities.

Technologies to create improved cyber data analytics and correlation capabilities.

Technologies supporting cyber resiliency & trust of man / unmanned team autonomous systems designs to include its actions and learning from interactions (environment/other systems/humans) while operating in resource constrained environments.

High fidelity decoy and deterrence capabilities to include multi-user behavior for resource constrained environments.

Machine learning based decoys for improved deterrence.

Methods and technologies for misleading lateral movements and scans with false capabilities that shouldn't be there or vulnerabilities that shouldn't exist for resource constrained environments.

Methods to generate false documents for misleading lateral movements.

Technologies for attack prediction and adversarial reasoning.

Technologies to assess datasets for security and cyberattacks/poisoning of datasets Technologies to mitigate threats against machine learning models.

Technologies to ensure the security of communications between machine learning models and the secure distribution of machine learning models.

Technologies to secure systems as they create machine learning models/agents to ensure the integrity and assurance of the machine learning models/agents.

Technologies that can build out machine learning models on small/dirty datasets.

Technologies for dynamically modifying applications in order to randomly change the available attack surface of a program.

Defensive cyber maneuver capabilities for applications, systems, and networks to create a moving target that will cause the cost, time, and/or skill level of the attacker to be so high it’s not economically viable.

Security enhancements for SW defined networking for de-centralized architectures.

Technologies to map cyber events against mission plans and assess mission impacts.

Technologies for coordination between defensive cyber, offensive cyber, Network

Operations (NetOPs), networking, and spectrum capabilities.

Tracking data provenance in disconnected environments.

Technologies that apply big data analysis to cyber events to assess attacks and risks.

Technologies to assess cyber component performance to help shape metrics and quantitative analysis of tools to enable evaluation of S&T investments prior to deployment; technology assessments that correspond to real world conditions.

Technologies in Software (SW) assurance to address common weaknesses and enumerations in SW development.

Technologies to develop assurance models for domain specific SW development languages.

Technologies to develop a root of trust, including but not limited to, trust negotiation tools based on data trust models.

Trust determination scoring mechanisms for decision support.

Architectures that maintain trust models when developed from un-trusted components.

Policy driven Technologies for identity/authentication and access control.

Mobile device security Technologies.

Technologies for security in the cloud environment for both strategic and tactical environments.

HW mechanisms Technologies for secure boot load and continuous monitoring of critical SW.

Anomaly intrusion sensor training capabilities to reduce the amount of time required to define typical system behavior.

Operating system kernel agnostic Technologies that provide kernel level protection from rootkit malware. Of interest are Technologies for dynamic memory allocation protection capabilities.

Technologies using Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) for cyber security data processing including GPUs as an attack vector.

Technologies for the Modeling and Simulation (M&S) of cyber security events with a defense-in-depth approach in place.

Technologies or approaches to Exta-Scale core systems and their application to cybersecurity including advanced persistent threat detection through big data fusion.

Technologies to address cyber security in the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) environment and/or weapon platforms.

Autonomous vulnerability discovery technologies for embedded industrial control systems.

Technologies to ensure the security of data processed and routed through tactical networks or on a system to include understanding an assessing the security based upon data provenance and assessing differences between malicious and benign data modifications.

Technologies to securely modify data and destroy or detect embedded malware or steganographic information.

Technologies to disguise valid systems and information flows amongst fake systems and information flows.

Technologies to secure Containers, Virtual Machines, Hypervisors, Microservices, Unikernels, and Service Oriented Architectures.

Technologies to securely migrate technologies on networks between hosts.

Metrics and measures to assess efficacy and efficiency of SW assurance tools and techniques and dynamically tailor developer interactions based on trends and analysis.

Technologies to circumvent passive attackers from gaining information about networks.

Technologies that leverage SW Defined Network (SDN) to create new defensive cyber capabilities.

New security-oriented routing protocols and self- healing network protocols.

Technologies that leverage machine learning in order to make cyber determinations.

Technologies that leverage quantum computing or quantum encryption to protect data flows and networks.

Technologies that are inherently secured against being broken by a quantum system.

Technologies that can be used to defend quantum systems from cyberattacks.

Technologies that can protect cyber technologies or other valid applications from being reverse engineered or assessed while they are in execution.

Homomorphic encryption Techniques for processing information while performing minimal decryption.

Biometrics.

Wearable technologies for Multi-factor Identity and Access Management.

Continuous authentication techniques for de-centralized and disconnected environments.

Efficient Zero Trust techniques for resource constrained environments.

Technologies to ease and expedite cyber forensics.

Technologies for digital assistants to support the cyber decision making process of users.

Technologies for adding security features directly into radio waveforms.

Technologies for assessing specialized crypto embedment into multiple types of devices.

Technologies that assess how well existing or new Transmission Security (TRANSEC) and Communications Security (COMSEC) algorithms and techniques protect networks, systems, and data.

Technologies in the area of Cross Domain Solutions (CDS) that allow for automated analysis and transfer of information flows especially for non-fixed formatted message types.

Technologies for multi-level security.

Technologies to secure and provide DCO for Cyber Physical Systems, Operational

Technology (OT) & Internet of Things (IoT).

Techniques supporting Monitoring & assessments of Cyber engagement states, impacts, and outcomes.

Techniques for Cyber Obfuscation, Deception, and Diversion.

Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques that support self-healing

SW code.

Techniques for automated SW coding decision aids to minimize coding induced vulnerabilities.

Software defined technologies able to provide a protective shell after identifying possible software based anomalies that leave the system with an open vulnerability.

Smart technologies able to reroute/delay network traffic dynamically after detection of a viable cyber threat with no degradation to mission.

Proposed efforts should include a demonstration/prototype delivery of the proposed technology.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1802

Cooperative Beamforming

Division: RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS (RFC) Technical POC: Mr. Jeremy Scott, jeremy.d.scott36.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Mr. Archie Kujawski, archie.l.kujawski.civ@army.mil

C5ISR Center is interested in the development of cooperative beamforming radio systems with robust Anti-Jam/Anti-Jamming (AJ), and Low Probability of Intercept/Low Probability of Detection (LPI/LPD) capabilities suitable for dismounted use. The proposed R&D should address AJ and LPI/LPD in both link directions (transmit and receive) as well as any necessary coordinating communications between nodes. Proposed R&D solutions should, at a minimum, support communications between a dismounted squad of soldiers and a distant vehicle (100 meters up to several kilometers away from the squad). Desired R&D topics will address the technology necessary to implement this capability in a manner that can support a scalable network with a low Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) suitable for dismount use. Proposed development solutions should utilize a secure HW/SW architecture and Information Assurance (IA) approach, or, at a minimum, responses must explain a clear and low-risk path that shows how the design can support incorporation of IA measures at later stages of development.

The maturity of the proposed technology should be at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or higher, although TRL 3 technology that can rapidly reach TRL 4 will be considered.

The end state of the effort should be a set of demonstration/prototype delivery/proof of concept systems at TRL 5 or 6 that can be tested in an outdoor field environment.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1803

Low Probability of Intercept/Low Probability of Detection (LPI/LPD) Squad Area Networks (SQAN)

Division: RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS (RFC) Technical POC: Mr. Patrick Charles, patrick.n.charles.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Mr. Jeremy Scott, jeremy.d.scott36.civ@army.mil

C5ISR Center is interested in the development of novel LPI/LPD and AJ capabilities for wireless SQAN to support communications for dismounted soldiers. Communications range can/should be traded off to achieve better AJ and LPI/LPD performance and extended battery life. The minimum throughput should support voice communications and the transfer of still-frame images; however, higher throughput is desirable and would be expected in benign operating conditions. The waveform should have mobile ad-hoc networking capability (e.g., no fixed infrastructure required, self-forming, self-healing) and support a scalable network. Furthermore, the desired solution should be implementable on low SWaP-C HW suitable for dismount use. The proposed effort can incorporate commercial standards/technologies; however, they should demonstrate innovate and novel development techniques. Proposed development solutions/prototype delivery should utilize a secure HW/SW architecture IA approach, or, at a minimum, must explain a clear and low-risk path that shows how the design can support incorporation of IA measures in later stages of development.

The maturity of the proposed technology should be at a TRL 4 or higher, although TRL 3 technology that can rapidly reach TRL 4 will be considered. The end state of the proposed effort should be a set of demonstration/proof of concept systems at TRL 5 or 6 that can be tested in an outdoor field environment

TOPIC NUMBER: S1804

Millimeter Wave (mmW) Communications

Division: RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS (RFC) Technical POC: Mr. Emanuel Merulla, emanuel.j.merulla.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Mr. Jeremy Scott, jeremy.d.scott36.civ@army.mil

C5ISR Center is interested in the development of novel capabilities for mmW communications for application to the tactical battlespace, which provide for high throughput, while maintaining AJ, and LPI/LPD characteristics. Necessary communications ranges vary by application but should be practical for tactical scenarios. C5ISR Center is willing to trade-off some throughput for additional range and better multi-path performance.

C5ISR Center is particularly interested in the R&D of technologies that will support the use of mmW for On-The-Move (OTM) applications on ground vehicles and other mobile platforms. This may include but is not limited to: high update-rate beamforming/beam-steering antennas, multi-path resilient waveforms, and mobile ad-hoc networking protocols that support mmW waveforms. Proposed effort can incorporate commercial standards/technologies, however should demonstrate the development of novel, and innovate techniques. Proposed development solutions/prototype delivery should utilize a secure HW/SW architecture and IA approach, or, at a minimum, must explain a clear and low-risk path that shows how the design can support incorporation of IA measures in later stages of development.

The maturity of the proposed technology should be at a TRL 4 or higher, although TRL 3 technology that can rapidly reach TRL 4 will be considered. The end state of the effort should be a set of demonstration/proof of concept systems at TRL 5 or 6 that can be tested in an outdoor field environment.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1805

High Frequency (HF) Communications

Division: RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS (RFC) Technical POC: Mr. Mitchell Mayer, mitchell.s.mayer.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Mr. James Mink, james.r.mink.civ@army.mil

C5ISR Center is interested in the development of an HF communications system with AJ and LPI/LPD capabilities. The proposed system should also be backward compatible with legacy HF systems and provide improvements where applicable and feasible. Desired R&D topics will address the technology necessary to implement this capability in a manner that can support a scalable network and have the means to interface with existing Army networks (e.g., Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T)). Innovative mailto:mitchell.s.mayer.civ@army.mil technologies/prototype delivery are being sought to maximize HF throughput while minimizing Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) and providing LPI/LPD and AJ characteristics.

C5ISR Center is interested in analysis of HF radio and waveform characteristics that implement LPI/LPD and AJ features useful to the U.S. Army. There is also interest in architecture and integration analysis including interfaces and standards that facilitate HF insertion into Army tactical and soldier platforms.

The maturity of the proposed technology should be at a TRL 4 or higher, although TRL 3 technology that can rapidly reach TRL 4 will be considered. The end state of the effort should be a set of demonstration/proof of concept systems at TRL 5 or 6 that can be tested in an outdoor field environment.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1806 – N/A

TOPIC NUMBER: S1807

Every Receiver a Sensor (ERAS)

Division: RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS (RFC) Technical POC: Mr. Jonathan Lee, jonathan.j.lee34.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Mr. John Franklin, john.m.franklin52.civ@army.mil

C5ISR Center is interested in broadening and deepening the U.S. Army’s ability to sense the Cyber Electro-Magnetic Operational Environment (EMOE) in a congested and contested operating environment for the purpose of augmenting the Commander’s SU.

The ERAS program aims at developing technology that leverages available idle RF receiver systems to become part of a task-able distributed network of sensors providing near-real time sensed spectrum data.

One of these receiver types will be RF tactical communications radio systems. During radio idle times, the radio system will act as a sensor and will be tasked to perform sensing operations remotely and/or via integrated Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) policies that incorporate AI techniques for radio nodes in Distributed Intermittent Limited (DIL) environments.

C5ISR Center is interested in the development of DSA algorithms that incorporate AI techniques for ingesting sensed spectrum at the tactical edge and performing real-time analytics to determine necessary alterations to accepted radio parameters: frequency (shifting, hopping, diversity, etc.), space, time, polarization, modulation, power adaptation, and other new previously unexplored parameters in support of potential mission changes.

These algorithms should consider the processing power of the host radio node as well as power efficiency usage for minimal power cost (e.g., utilization of efficient low-power chip technology, etc.) to the host radio node while incorporating methods/techniques for efficient real-time dissemination across tactical Army communication network of sensed electro-magnetic spectrum information. The algorithms should enable radio nodes to communicate with other network radio nodes for efficient distribution of spectrum sensing tasks. The algorithms should promote increased spectrum efficiency and mitigate adverse effects of congested and contested RF environments. The algorithms should incorporate big data analytic techniques to aid in advising radio nodes of potential radio parameter changes to support the mission.

The maturity of the proposed technology should be at a TRL 4 or higher, although TRL 3 technology that can rapidly reach TRL 4 will be considered. The end state of the effort should be a set of demonstration/prototype delivery/proof of concept systems at TRL 5 or 6 that can be tested in an outdoor field environment.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1808

Antennas and Antenna Technologies for Tactical Communications

Division: RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS (RFC) Technical POC: Mr. Mitchell Mayer, mitchell.s.mayer.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Dr. Shuguang Chen, shuguang.chen.civ@army.mil

C5ISR Center is interested in the development of antennas encompassing a wide diversity of technologies and capabilities to support communications for air, ground, or dismounted platforms. The proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable both evolutionary and revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems to improve antenna performance.

The research approaches must provide the bandwidths, gains, and SWaP reductions to enable wide deployment and link closures between the functional elements of networked nodes consisting of dismounted soldiers, unattended sensors, remote communications relays, highly mobile command and control elements, air tiers, and direct and indirect fire weapons.

The following research focus areas, without prioritization, are of interest:

Amplification circuits that transform antenna designs through order of magnitude improvements in signal-to-noise performance and power efficiency.

Approaches that have potential to reduce SWaP associated with signal distribution and coupling.

Designs that provide useful bandwidth over an octave or more for air, ground, or dismounted applications.

Innovative integration methods to mount distributed antenna systems onto tactical platforms without drilling new holes or using existing bolts that may not optimize placement locations.

Multifunction capabilities for platforms in multi-mission environments with reduced visual signatures.

Body worn / weapon mounted antennas to support the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), and terrestrial communication applications.

Conformance to non-tactical platforms for covert operations.

Applications to Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technologies.

Wideband (WB) spectrum monitoring.

RF performance of ballistic radomes and reducing radome costs.

Cosite interference mitigation solutions.

Autonomous systems / sub terrain communications.

All antenna designs/technologies/prototype delivery that meet any of the above focus areas are of interest under this BAA topic. The maturity of the proposed technology should be at a TRL 4 or higher, although TRL 3 technology that can rapidly reach TRL 4 will be considered. The end state of the effort should be a set of demonstration/proof of concept systems at TRL 5 or 6 that can be tested in an outdoor field environment.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1809

Airborne Line of Sight (LOS) and Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) Range Extension and Reach-back Communications On-the-Halt (OTH) and On-the-Move (OTM)

Division: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS (SATCOM) SYSTEMS Technical POC: Gil Green, gilbert.s.green2.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Jim Gallagher, james.j.gallagher56.civ@army.mil

The C5ISR Center is interested in addressing innovative, practical, and cost effective technology solutions to the technical barriers associated with range extension and airborne communications. This includes ground-air-ground and SATCOM used to extend current/emerging tactical networks and provide reach back. Efforts can include range extension for terrestrial radios, surrogate satellites (e.g., Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Aerostat payloads) to augment/supplement space-based SATCOM, or new/unique services that could be provided by airborne payloads.

The joint force requires an aerial layer transport capability to provide a high capacity, persistent end-to-end connectivity that is responsive to all users over extended distances, in complex, urban terrain, and while on the move. This capability satisfies requirements gaps in command and control, battle space awareness, and net-centric environment as identified by U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

Proposed efforts should include a comprehensive analysis of the current state-of-the-art systems and technologies, in the appropriate technology areas, for an airborne communications relay payload. Proposed efforts should include a demonstration/prototype delivery of the proposed payload utilizing existing or newly developed ground terminals.

Another objective of this effort is to develop OTM airborne communications that could interface with WB commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, military Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite, and Protected Extremely High Frequency (EHF) Narrowband (NB) SATCOM.

Key technology challenges include but are not limited to:

Interoperability with legacy waveforms (i.e., Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), Enhanced Position Location and Reporting System (EPLRS), etc.), for LOS; Interoperability with Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) requirements for BLOS.

Enhances communications range extension, transition and relay capabilities of the Aerial platform.

Ability to support next generation Military and Commercial waveforms.

Ability to minimize SWaP-C.

Ability to provide coverage over tactical LOS distances or BLOS transmission capability (e.g., SATCOM).

Mountable on various airborne vehicles, including manned and unmanned Aircraft and

Aerostats.

Ruggedized (e.g., able to withstand moderate impacts, harsh environmental conditions; and, does not increase platform vulnerability).

TOPIC NUMBER: S1810

Tactical Satellite Communications On-The-Move (SOTM) Research

Division: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS (SATCOM) SYSTEMS Technical POC: James Gallagher, james.j.gallagher56.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Rich Hoffmann, paul.r.hoffmann4.civ@army.mil

The C5ISR Center SATCOM Division is interested in new technologies that enhance Tactical SOTM and At-The-Halt (ATH) performance, and/or reduce SWaP and recurring cost. Tactical SATCOM systems must also evolve with new and fluid operational concepts.

Specific goals of development include: multi-beam, multi-band, low SWaP, low cost solutions capable of operating over different constellation types including LEO, MEO, and

GEO.

Tactical SATCOM systems are integrated on crowded tactical vehicles, including vehicles with turrets. There is interest in low profile antenna systems (e.g., six (6) to twelve (12) inches or less in height) that maintain performance at low look angles (e.g., ten (10) to twenty (20) degrees), and distributed antenna technologies to ease integration. There is interest in both military (X, Ka, and Q) and commercial (L, X, Ku, and Ka) frequency bands for these antenna subsystems. OTM includes full operation on tactical vehicles over rough terrain.

Tactical SATCOM systems will be used to operate, manage, and engage autonomous vehicular platforms. SATCOM control systems which will allow the USG to fully manage autonomous SATCOM terminals is of interest.

As Tactical SATCOM systems are targets of EW, the U.S. Army is interest in counter-EW technologies and solutions, including, but not limited to, (1) autonomous control systems to allow the network to adapt to fluid operational mission needs, (2) spread spectrum systems for jamming resistance, and, (3) systems with enhanced security requirements to protect the tactical network(s).

The cost of Tactical SATCOM systems, continues to challenge the U.S Army’s ability to field large quantities of these systems; therefore, technologies that significantly reduce costs to the USG are of interest.

There is also interest in all subsystems of the SOTM terminal, including the OTM tracking systems (electronic and mechanical), amplifier systems, converter systems, receiver systems, aperture (antenna) systems, modem systems, baseband systems, and control systems.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1811

Advanced Satellite System Control Capabilities

Division: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS (SATCOM) SYSTEMS Technical POC: Saul Foresta, saul.n.foresta.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Rich Hoffmann, paul.r.hoffmann4.civ@army.mil

The C5ISR Center is interested in innovative, practical, and cost-effective technology solutions to the technical barriers associated with optimizing satellite network control.

Technology solutions in the areas of optimized architectures, virtualized environments, efficient and timely centralized database for streamlined management, efficient systems of systems technologies, real-time optimization (e.g., power control) planning, monitoring, and positive control are needed in order to utilize satellites most efficiently and support the maximum number of users. Key technical challenges include efficient and robust data transfer between user terminals and control system terminals, implementation of an efficient architecture to support data storage and translation between multiple individual functions, the utilization of automation where appropriate to reduce control operator workload, and advanced algorithms to support real time optimization, trending analysis and troubleshooting.

Efficient and effective SATCOM is an important requirement for current Army forces.

Diverse terminal and user requirements, advanced satellite features, and multiple operational environments makes satellite system control challenging. The contested environment is particularly challenging, requiring support for robust and resilient communications as well as advanced interference location techniques.

The objective of this effort is to develop control systems that support maximum satellite efficiency while reducing operator burden in all operational environments.

Key technology challenges include, but are not limited to:

Efficient use and management of satellite resources Reduced SATCOM control center operator burden - Centralize account and password management, single-sign on, automate internal/external system interactions.

Speed and automation for detection of anomalies (equipment failure, interference, or configuration) for global real time SA.

Speed and automation for link planning and support for automated service request process.

Monitoring and control of satellite resources Interference detection, characterization and Geolocation Contingency planning and network restoration Network data trend analysis and visualization Efficient addition of new payloads, terminals, modems, and waveforms.

Integration with legacy operations system components IA controls to include Defense In Depth, Out of Band Management.

Efficient and robust database management to include virtualized infrastructure, intelligent learning for trending and data analysis, continuous monitoring and network management standards.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1812

SATCOM Resiliency Technologies

Division: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS (SATCOM) SYSTEMS Technical POC: Peter Bach, peter.a.bach4.civ@army.mil Secondary POC: Rich Hoffmann, paul.r.hoffmann4.civ@army.mil

The C5ISR Center is interested in innovative, practical, and cost-effective technology solutions to the technical barriers associated with improving the protection and resiliency of SATCOM. Improving system availability in congested and contested environments.

Current and emerging contested environments up to and including peer threats should be considered. This applies to all types of commercial and MILSATCOM, including NB, WB, and Protected SATCOM, as well as, all segments including the terrestrial terminal segment, the satellite payload and bus segment, and the control segment.

The U.S. Army currently leverages multiple commercial and MILSATCOM across the enterprise and all tactical echelons. The C5ISR Center is seeking technologies that add system resiliency to currently fielded systems through SW and/or HW modifications or additions, as well as adding resiliency to the SATCOM network through the use of emerging systems. Technologies are sought that are complementary with current and future Army SATCOM waveforms (e.g., Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Multiple Frequency-Time Division Multiple Access (MF-

TDMA)).

Providing Protected, or AJ, Anti-Scintillation (AS), LPI/LPD capabilities, and waveforms for both communications and satellite network management.

AJ waveforms that can co-exist with user communications in the same bandwidth segments

Small form factor, low cost AJ waveform implementations that can support very low throughputs (e.g., two (2) kilobits per second (kbps)) to provide significant AJ protection in low bandwidth environments.

Development of advanced SA, control concepts, algorithms, and implementations for SATCOM systems.

Innovative solutions to reducing interference through advanced digital processing techniques supporting as many types of interference as possible, including wide bandwidth and dynamic interference.

Integrated AJ systems leveraging multiple mitigations, including automated, intelligent, and learning systems that can support optimum response to interference based on available mitigations.

Efficient and flexible approach to adding resiliency to SATCOM, including effective network interfaces to optimize traffic flow.

Cost effective, scalable RF and antenna technologies supporting flexible connectivity to simultaneous satellites or frequency band changes without manual reconfiguration (e.g., X, Ku, commercial and military Ka).

Low SWaP-C satellite ground terminal integration solutions supporting ease of operation for the Soldier.

Beam forming solutions supporting interference nulling, leveraging current MILSATCOM satellite payloads (e.g., WB Global SATCOM) and future commercial and MILSATCOM payloads.

Novel geo-location solutions, leveraging current MILSATCOM payloads (e.g., WB Global SATCOM).

New satellite system approaches to support resilient and high throughput connectivity for enterprise and tactical use (e.g., emerging commercial Ka, LEO/MEO mega-constellations, and or Nano/Small Satellites).

Efficient, virtualized, and scalable architecture solutions supporting Army mission thread and Multi-Domain Battle (MDB) end to end connectivity.

Virtualized waveform technologies as an approach to support new and existing SATCOM waveforms while minimizing the SWAP-C. Support flexibility of waveform use, including simultaneous operation, and integration of third party waveforms into the modem platform.

TOPIC NUMBER: S1813

Advanced Technologies for Fixed and Transportable Satellite Earth Terminals

Division: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS (SATCOM) SYSTEMS Technical POC: Jim Gallagher Secondary POC: Steve Lescrinier, stephen.p.lescrinier.civ@army.mil

The C5ISR Center is interested in innovative, practical, and cost-effective technology solutions to the technical barriers associated with improving the capacity and performance of fixed and transportable SATCOM earth terminals, as well as reducing the physical space and support requirements for terminals and associated equipment.

The U.S. Army fields and operates fixed and transportable satellite terminals in a variety of military (Super High Frequency (SHF) and EHF) and commercial (L, C, X, Ku, Ka, Q, W, V) frequency bands for tactical and strategic communications. Specific bands of current interest include Global Broadcast Satellites (GBS) (twenty (20) Gigahertz (GHz)), WB Global SATCOM (7/8 GHz and 20/30 GHz) and Military Strategic, Tactical and Relay (MILSTAR)/Advanced EHF (20/44 GHZ). There is interest in support for high capacity communications among terminals as well as support for small aperture communications OTM terminals.

The U.S. Army is actively pursuing the application of a standards-based digital architecture terminal, which converts analog RF subsystems to all digital signal processing functions.

These functions include modem, multiplexing, switching, routing, patching, and link adaptation functions. The digital interfaces for these functions are based on the technical interface standard for Digital Intermediate Frequency (IF) published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the Open Standard Digital IF Interface (OSDI) for SATCOM Systems (ANSI/TIA 5041).

The objective of this effort is to develop cost effective technology solutions to enable increased equipment utilization and bandwidth efficiency for fixed and transportable SATCOM ground terminals.

Development of advanced processing, waveforms, coding, and other techniques to enable more efficient channel and bandwidth utilization while maintaining signal quality in the presence of random errors during transmission.

Development of advanced modem architectures and technologies that enable the digital processing of SATCOM signals as close…